Meissner's Out of Nationals...and Pt. 2 of Predicting Parellel Championships

Some breaking news to report before I get to the rest of my Euros predictions:

+ According to a very brief blurb on IceNetwork.com, Kimmie Meissner has withdrawn from next week’s U.S. Nationals “due to injury”. I can’t find anything else on this as I go to post, but more info will surely be available tomorrow. What an unfortunate way to end a surely disappointing season for Meissner. May time help her heal not only her body, but any lingering abrasions on her spirit…

+ Now for news that you may already know, especially if you’re reading from the Great White North: Canadian Nationals have come to a close, and congratulations are in order for Joannie Rochette (5 times champion), Patrick Chan (2 time champion), Dube & Davison (World bronze medalists; 1st-time National champs), and Virtue & Moir (World silver medalists; 2nd time National champs).

OK, back across the Atlantic…

For LADIES:

Gold- Carolina Kostner (ITA)
Silver- Laura Lepisto (FIN)
Bronze- Susanna Poykio (FIN)

Personal taste aside, I don’t see how Kostner can lose this, even if she blows it as badly as she did as Skate Canada. She simply has too much on her side technically speaking—compared to other European ladies at the moment, at least—and they seem to love to lavish the presentation marks on her no matter where she is, so… the math is there.

With Sarah Meier out with a herniated disc, silver and bronze get a lot tougher this year. I found myself re-watching all the top Finnish women, trying to make a choice. I’m going with Lepisto because she seems the most solid. I know Korpi is back from injury, but the free skate I saw of hers seemed void of non-edge triples. I LOVED her music (which put me in the mind of the Delobel/Schoenfelder “Bonnie and Clyde” program of a few years ago), but again, the technical just doesn’t seem good to go yet. If she shows up at Euros with a full plate of jumps, though, I might be eating my predictions…

For MEN:

Gold- Brian Joubert (FRA)
Silver- Alban Preaubert (FRA)
Bronze- Tomas Verner (CZE)

I keep putting Joubert on top this year, with mixed results: a total blow-up at TEB, at total turn-around at Cup of Russia, and a withdrawal at the GP Final. Still, I’m going with him here… if only because I think he comes seeking vengeance from last year. Speaking of last year—I’d really like to have higher hopes for Verner, as I find his Tango program plenty appealing. But he seems to have left his confidence in Sweden at last year’s Worlds, and it only get sent back to him in bits and pieces. He just doesn’t seem “back” yet. Which, hopefully, leaves the silver spot open for Preaubert—someone I think I’ve been underrating up to this point.

OK, one down, one to go… U.S. Nationals predictions coming very soon!

Kiira Korpi’s FS from the recent Finnish Nationals is the Clip of the Day.

Predicting Parellel Championships Part 1: Euros, Pairs & Dance

You might have heard that there’s another major figure skating championships taking place across the pond at virtually the same time as U.S. Nationals next week.

Me, I think of it more like this: O-my-God-whose-big-idea-was-it-to-schedule-two-big-championships-at-the-same-time-so-horrific-for-bloggers-trying-to-write-about-both-how-COULD-they??

And then I realize I need to get over that quickly, because I have twice as many predictions to make as usual and time’s a-wasting. So without further adieu, let’s get started with PAIRS and DANCE predictions for Europeans:

For PAIRS:
Gold- Savchenko/Szolkowy (GER)
Silver- Kawaguchi/Smirnov (RUS)
Bronze- Volosozhar/Morozov (UKR)

Yes, the Germans slipped up at the GP Final last month… but the ones to whom they lost are not at this event. The Germans DID beat Kawaguchi/Smirnov last month, though, and even if the latter finds success with their throw quad salchow I’m not sure they could win. Savchenko and Szolkowy, even when flawed, continue to dominate pairs skating—at least as far as Europe is concerned.

You might think I’ve chosen Volosozhar/Morozov simply because I continue to be unimpressed by Mukhortova/Trankov. But seriously, I took another look at the Volo/Moro performance at Cup of China… and it’s infinitely more enjoyable than the chemistry-free Lady & Hooligan number that Muk/Trank have been trying to sell us this year. Fingers crossed for the Ukranians!

For DANCE:
Gold- Domnina/Shabalin (RUS)
Silver- Faiella/Scali (ITA)
Bronze- Khoklova/Novitski (RUS)

With the “other” D/S team out with an injury, the dance title might be up for grabs between at least a half-dozen other teams. Or is it? Domnina/Shabalin lost the Russian title to Khoklova/Novitski, but as weary as I am of their Spartacus spectacle, I think they’ll be pulling out all the stops to defeat the rest of the pack. I’ve yet to see them blow two competitions in a row. And I chose Faiella/Scali for the silver simply because, in re-watching the free dances, I found theirs to be the more seamless one.

It happens to still be available on You Tube in fact, so here it is as the Clip of the Day.

I’ll be back to predict the rest of Euros later in the weekend.

Nationals Preview, or A Patchwork Sampler of Great (or at least "Better") American GP Performances

As I write this, it is 15 degrees (Fahrenheit) in Cleveland Ohio. The 10-day outlook promises temperatures will rise to almost twice that by the time the Senior events start taking place at U.S. Nationals late next week. Having been out in 15 degree weather with kids and sleds for at least ½ an hour today, I will keep my fingers crossed for all fans attending that the forecasts are accurate.

In the meantime, I came up with this little guide to help us decide who we think will win next week. Unfortunately, this “guide” might only work for those of you with IceNetwork subscriptions, or who taped things off of the CBC or Eurosport, or have located remote corners of the WWW where the broadcasts continue to run freely.

I hope that accounts for a good amount of you (if not all)!

In ALPHABETICAL order, I’ve listed the 5 or 6 U.S. skaters competing in each discipline that have racked up the most notable scores on the GP circuit this season, and I’m listing their highest-scoring performance. This is not to say these are going to be the top skaters; I’m not making any predictions… yet. (Check back with me as we get a little closer.) This is just a chance to, if your resources are such, see the best these talents have to offer and imagine how things might shake down if everyone had a “best case scenario” awaiting them in Cleveland. (Yeah, I know. But imagine if they did!)

SKATER(s)/BEST SCORE
Alissa Czisny/Skate Canada
Rachael Flatt/ Cup of Russia
Katrina Hacker/ NHK Trophy
Mirai Nagasu/Skate America
Ashley Wagner/NHK (note: her best FS was at TEB)
Caroline Zhang/Trophee Eric Bompard

Jeremy Abbott/Grand Prix Final
Ryan Bradley/Skate Canada
Stephen Carriere/Cup of China
Evan Lysacek/Skate America
Adam Rippon/Cup of Russia
Johnny Weir/Skate America (though his NHK performance was scored similarly)

PAIRS…
Evora/Ladwig//Cup of China
Inoue/Baldwin//NHK Trophy
McLaughlin/Brubaker//Skate America
Vise/Trent//Skate Canada
(NOTE: Castile/Okolski had to withdraw from their GP events due to injury.)

DANCE…
Davis/White//Skate Canada
Navarro/Bommentre//Skate Canada
Samuelson/Bates//Skate America
Summersett/Gilles//Skate America
Wester/Barantsev//Trophee Eric Bompard

Hope I got all these right... let me know if I didn't!

To get you started, the Clip of the Day features the Grand Prix Final-winning free skate of JeremEEE… still available on You Tube, thank goodness.

If Skating Headlines Were Wishes...

Coming up with some “dream headlines” was harder than I thought… particularly once I decided to shy away from direct skater references, since I just did that with the NY predictions and I didn’t want to be redundant!

But with that said, here are five headlines I’d love to see show up in my Google news alert (along with a little bit of faux “story”, no matter how ridiculous it sounds):

ISU Promises: Dramatic Modifications in CoP to be in Place in Time for Vancouver Olympics

After years of complaints and ceaseless protests, the ISU has finally yielded to skaters and fans alike and has vowed to “re-shape” the Code of Points judging system into something everyone will universally find fair and attainable.

(Also in this “newspaper”: Everlasting Peace in the Middle East, U.S. Recession comes to an Abrupt End, and Doctors Finally Sing the Praises of Donuts.)

Anonymous, Schmononymous: All Skating Judges to Be Held Accountable For Scores, Effective Immediately

If, while attending the next international competition, you see curious looking men and women in trenchcoats, big hats and sunglasses—perhaps in complete disguise, their head obscured by a giant animal head—chances are good you’re seeing members of the judging panel. Starting with Four Continents and carrying on to Worlds 2009 and beyond, skaters will be able to see the representative countries behind each score for the first time in years.

“We don’t know what we were thinking,” confesses ISU President Ottavio Cinquanta…

Warhorse Moratorium Declared: Skaters/Coaches Have 90 Days to Turn Key CDs in to ISU Authorities

In an unprecedented move, The Powers That Be of the figure skating world are now requiring all senior international competitors and their “people” to give up their copies of overused music and find something else to skate to, or risk paying high fines and community service.

The list of “warhorses” includes Bizet’s Carmen, Bernstein’s West Side Story, and much to the surprise of many, the entire Pink Floyd catalog…

Major Network Signs Multi-Year Deal to Air ISU Grand Prix Events and More

A surprise bidding war today for the rights to U.S. Nationals and all international competitions resulted in ABC/ESPN reclaiming the rights they relinquished in 2008.

Rumors circulated almost instantaneously that former (and now future) skating commentator Terry Gannon lobbied the hardest for figure skating’s return, even vowing to boycott all ABC/ESPN college football coverage in the 2009-10 season if he could not cover figure skating again. Gannon could not be reached for comment.

No Sports Reporter Has Lamented the Demise of Figure Skating In Over Two Weeks; Fans of Other Sports Cry Foul, No One Cares

Are they all on vacation? Snowed in without internet access? Suffering from stomach flu?

Whatever it is, football, baseball, and soccer fans across the country are seeing red. “There’s nothing fun to read,” laments one such fan who asked to remain anonymous. “What are we supposed to do, entertain ourselves?”

OK, that’s all I’ve got for now. But speaking of entertaining ourselves, I’ve got a Clip of the Day that’s sure to please… for it’s not just featuring a warhorse, but a warhorse in the supremely skilled hands of the late, great John Curry.

The Final Bend to U.S. Nationals Starts With... a Big WIthdrawal

And as soon as I’m about to say “It’s time to get back to business,” there’s some skate-breaking news of the U.S. variety: Belbin & Agosto have withdrawn from Nationals. The back injury of Agosto’s that forced them to withdraw from GP Finals last month has prompted the withdrawal; they simply say it needs more time to heal.

And if that news isn’t telling enough of Davis & White’s chances to claim the title this year, check out this article from the L.A. Times about the Belbin/Agosto withdrawal… which, at least at the time I’m looking at it, clearly can’t tell B/A apart from D/W. (Come on, LA Times… I know skating isn’t getting the press it used to, but couldn’t a major newspaper like you do a tiny bit more research?)

Anyway…

Over in Cleveland, folks are getting ready to welcome the U.S. figure skating community to town as those 2009 U.S. Nationals take place later this month at the Quicken Loans Arena. For any of you that might be traveling to Cleveland for this event yourselves, take note of the Ought Nine Nationals blog, which is chock full of info to help get you in, out, and around the Cleveland area in as enjoyable a manner as possible. Recent entries include information about discounts for “locals”, copious restaurant information, and fun polls (such as voting for your favorite “beef” about attending Nationals, with categories from “Draconian camera policies” to “Arena food” to “Casual fans behaving badly”… heh heh).

Even if you have no plans to attend (yeah, me neither… sigh), you might want to check the site out. Especially if you’re jonesing to vote on who’s going to win—the polls are already open over there!

To get you in the mood for more Nationals stuff, here’s a clip of the day that features Mirai Nagasu’s gold-medal free skate from last year.

Skaters' Resolutions... The True, The False, and the Creepy

Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions yet? Have you broken any already?

I’m pushing the “dream headline” idea back a few days because I noticed that IceNetwork.com is featuring Skaters’ New Year’s Resolutions on its Inside Edge with Sarah and Drew page. Among the more amusing ones:

Jeremy Abbott: To stop swearing in the Kiss and Cry.
(Judging from the way he’s been skating of late, JeremEEE should have no problem keeping this!)

John Coughlin (U.S. pairs skater): To limit my chocolate-milk intake from the Olympic Training Center, as it cannot be good for my health.
(Mmmm… chocolate milk… think of the calcium John, not the calories…)

John Kerr: To 100 percent of the time remember to bring my music to exhibition performances (I forgot to bring it twice this year).
(I’m too busy laughing to come up with anything for this. Sounds like something I’d do.)

Stephanie Kuban (U.S. pairs skater): To start calling my partner by his real name, instead of "Creeps."
(Creeps?!?!)

OK, those are the REAL resolutions…

Which are not to be confused with the FAKE resolutions I’m about to make up for other skaters we know and love…!

Brian Joubert—no more spitting on the ice like he’s Rocky Balboa and it’s round 14. (See Joubert just before his disastrous TEB short program for more details.)

Mukhortova/Trankov—to get to some sort of couples counseling pronto to figure out how to work better together. Or, to beg the Russian Federation to just break them up already and put them out of their misery.

Domnina/Shabalin—to figure out what the point is of being miserable training in the U.S. alongside the top U.S. team when they’re starting to be overshadowed by fellow Russian teams.

Belbin/Agosto—strangely enough, the exact same thing (U.S. version).

Ashley Wagner—to ditch her borderline scandalous, leopard-print free skate dress so as not to distract from her otherwise awesome Spartacus program when Nationals roll around.

Savchenko/Szolkowy—to ditch their SP costumes because they look like they were designed by the Powerpuff Girls. Actually, didn’t I hear Savchenko herself created them? Just the same, COME ON… the only one I know who really appreciated them was my 5-year old daughter, who would have improved upon them with tiaras, fairy wings and sparkly rainbows… if only she knew how!

And speaking of which, the Clip of the Day showcases those pink and purple crimes of fashion as Savchenko and Szolkowy debuted them (I think?) this past summer at Nebelhorn Trophy. At least the skating is good...

Yesterday's News...5 Signs of Skating's Times in 2008

When you start a new year, does the “old year” – you know, the one we left behind just 24 hours ago—become old news? That is, news too dated to still be discussed?

We’re about to find out. Below I’ve listed 5 headlines… or if they weren’t bona fide headlines, they should have been headlines in the mind’s eye of a skater or skating fan. In MY mind’s eye, these were 5 of the most unforgettable signs of skating’s times in 2008.

In Chronological Order (more or less):

1) Christopher Bowman Dies at Age 40 (January)
His death may not have directly affected the sport, but it was certainly an ominous way to start the year. And while his troubled life and much-too-soon demise was incredibly sad to those of us who remember him in his heyday, it’s the “post-mortem”, so to speak, that reverberates with me as well. Should Bowman receive a posthumous induction into the sport’s Hall of Fame, or does such an action send the wrong message? Shouldn’t NBC have spent some on-air time discussing him and his illustrious career when they covered Nationals a couple weeks later? And speaking of the media, what are we to read (if anything) into the fact that Bowman’s death barely registered in mainstream media? I might be comparing apples to oranges here, but I recall Sergei Grinkov’s premature death was covered to considerable extent when he passed away in late 1995… when skating happened to still be in a post-’94 Olympics groundswell of popularity. I hate to think of someone’s death as a barometer for those still living and breathing the sport, but in this case, I couldn’t seem to help it.

2) Doug Wilson Retires From ABC/ESPN After Worlds (March)
Of all three retirements I’m mentioning in this post, I think this one might be the saddest for me… even if it was the most expected. Doug Wilson was THE preeminent producer and director for all skating events covered by ABC/ESPN, and had been with the network for well over 45 years covering the sport. When the rights were not renewed with ABC this season, Wilson decided the time was as good as any to call it a day, so he ended his skating “career” with the 2008 World Championships.

I’ve personally interviewed Mr. Wilson at length, and he seems as kind and thoughtful as anyone you’d hope to meet in the TV industry. He played an enormous part in the way we all saw and heard the sport, literally speaking, from the 1970s on through to the 21st century. He earned his own spot in the Hall of Fame last year, and rightfully so. We can only hope his influence will still be felt, regardless of the forum in which skating continues to be shown.

3) Jeffrey Buttle Retires (September)/Stephane Lambiel Retires (October)
The double whammy! At a time when more and more skaters seem to shy away from Big Announcements and Bigger Decisions, the respective retirements of both the current World champion and a past World champion hit especially hard. Both came mere weeks before the new season began. Both wreaked havoc with the GP schedules. And both were rather unexpected anyway—Buttle at arguably the pinnacle of his career; Lambiel perhaps past the pinnacle, but seemingly with several more good years in him. Throw in the endless commentary about how, in Buttle’s choice, skating is losing one of its “true artists” at a time they are needed the most… and how Lambiel’s injury-related decision speaks volumes for how the CoP is tearing athletes’ bodies to shreds… and you end up with quite a one-two punch. Unfortunately.

4) Judging Panels to Shrink at Major Championships (October)
It’s too soon to tell just what sort of long-term impact this unpopular decision is going to have… but when a headline (and this one was an actual headline) essentially discusses judging and figure skating in the same breath, I’m not sure if there’s anyone who comes away with a good feeling about the news being delivered. Know what I mean?

5) Mao Asada Lands Two Triple Axels Within One Free Skate… the First Lady to Do So in International Competition (December)
I’m not at all sure if this was a headline, but it should have been. Asada’s accomplishment at the GPF was incredible and historic, as many have noted… but again, mainstream media has barely blinked thus far. Please, won’t someone tell me they saw a clip of her on ESPN or something? Again I must say I’d have a hard time believing coverage would have been the same had Asada (or anyone else) accomplished this in the mid-late 1990s. The sad truth is, stories can’t be written about things the story writers don’t care about. And if the majority of TV viewers don’t bother with Ice Network, and consequentially don’t even see much skating anymore… how can they care about it?

OK, so there goes last year’s news… on the next post, maybe I should think up some “dream headlines” for 2009. What do you think? :-)

For the Clip of the Day I’m going all the way back to Torvill and Dean’s definitive Bolero Olympic free dance— as directed by the aforementioned Doug Wilson. Happy new year everyone!